Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Wisdom from a President
President Garfield was a member of the Lord's church and was known for his integrity. It was his abhorrence of corruption that ultimately resulted in his assassination. He lived the Christian life and made many friends and some enemies as a result. What a fitting quote for a man full of loyalty and integrity.
I once read that he was an elder in the church when he took the office of President and said that he was stepping down from the highest office on earth (the eldership) to take the office of President of the United States. That is a man who had things in proper perspective. You might enjoy reading up on this exemplary Christian.
Dana Burk
Monday, June 26, 2006
Total Apostasy
Not once in their conversation was ANYTHING said about the scriptures, God, Jesus, Biblical authority, etc. I was astounded at how "secular" the whole discussion was. When Tol joined me, I relayed the parts of the conversation I had heard and we talked about how foreign it was to one we would have about our "church". I said, "How did they get so far from the word?" He answered, "Little by little--one step at a time."
As I have thought about that, I realize we are only one step away from following their path. All we have to do is leave the authority of the scriptures over one small thing and then we are on our way down the same path to total apostasy as so many of the churches around us today. Jesus said all authority had been given to Him, thus confining each of us to the bounds of His word. It takes diligence to seek to always follow His authority in all things.
Dana Burk
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Would I Be Called A Christian?
- Would I be called a Christian if everybody knew my secret thoughts and feelings and everything I do?
- Oh, would they see the likeness of Christ in me each day?
- Oh, would they hear Him speaking in every word I say?
- Would I be called a Christian if everybody could know, that I am found in places where Jesus would not go?
- O, would they hear His echo in every song I sing...In eating, drinking, dressing would they see Christ in me?
- Would I be called a Christian if judged by what I read? By all my recreations and every thought and deed?
- Would I be counted Christ-like as I now work and pray? Unselfish, kind, forgiving to others everyday?
(borrowed)
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Tell Me the Story
We just completed our VBS this week and averaged about 80 children per night--many were visitors. They were excited and enthusiastic from 1 year olds to 18 year olds. We didn't offer them musical productions, dance dramas, hot dogs or ice cream--we simply offered them exciting stories from the Bible about real kings who had real problems to overcome and the kids came back night after night.
God's word is still as powerful today as it was when it was written and can still move us and motivate us just as it always has. Our Lord and Savior used "visual aids" when He taught the people to make His points come to life, i.e., fig trees, fish, fishing nets, the seeds in the ground sheep, barns and even the stars in the sky. We too have used a number of "visual aids": pictures, posters, an artificial tree, a wooden cross made from boxes, and a throne from wooden crates and gold wrapping paper, but we haven't altered, in anyway, God's word or message. We have simply used these to help the children visualize the lessons taught in His word.
As a result, we know the kids came for the Bible lessons, not for food and entertainment. All around our town, this time of year, there are churches offering all types of "gimmicks" to get kids to come to their VBS, like snacks, fiestas, pizza parties, etc. I see very little, if any, advertising of the Bible lessons they will be teaching. They are selling the Gospel for food and fun and it is so unnecessary. Children love God and they love God's word--they don't have to be bought off with gimmicks. How often we underestimate the spirituality of our children.
Tol and I will be going in a few weeks to a tiny Caribbean island, to a small village of 400-500 people and help the fledgling church there with a VBS. The congregation only numbers about 25-30 and yet we are expecting any where from 50-60 children to attend the VBS. There will be no music, no snacks, no pizza parties, no movies and, in fact, the only visual aids will be a few posters we can take with us on the air-plane and yet, the children will come and come and come. Each year when we end for the week, we always have some of the children ask if we can go for another week. They are so eager to learn about Jesus and His word.
Jesus said we need to become like little children because of such is the kingdom of Heaven. What a great example children are to us--they love the pure milk of the word of God.
"Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word,
"Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard."
Dana Burk
Friday, June 23, 2006
The Rich King's Four Wives
He also loved the third wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another man.
He also loved his second wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate, and patient with him. Whenever the king faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.
The king's first wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
One day, the king fell ill and knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone."
Thus, he asked the fourth wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No way!" replied the fourth wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.
The sad king then asked the third wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No!" she replied. "Life is too good! When you die, I'll remarry!"
His heart turned cold. He then asked the second wife, "I have always turned to you for help, and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't help this time!" replied the second wife. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightening. The king was devastated.
Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go."
The king looked up and saw his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, he said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"
In truth, we all have four wives in our lives:
- Our fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die.
- Our third wife is our possessions, status, and wealth. When we die, these will go to others.
- Our second wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, they can't go with us past the grave.
- Our first wife is our soul. We often neglect it in pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasures of the world. However, our soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout eternity.
--adapted from eSermons.com
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Bring Your Characters to Life--Life Size That is
Teaching Bible lessons can be greatly enhanced by creating life-size characters. It is much easier for the children to truly grasp the reality of the Bible story when they see life-like people. Just about any graphic image can be "blown" up to life size through a graphics program like Print Shop or Print Master, etc.
We try and use "meta-files" so the distortion is limited when enlarging the graphic and then we determine how large we want the graphic to be--100% is normal print size so we select 200%, 250%, 500%, etc. By selecting the "output size" on the print setup screen, we can easily make our Bible characters life-size--6ft. Roman soldiers or a 9 ft. Goliath.
A couple of years ago, our congregation purchased a Hewlett Packard Designjet 100 which accommodates paper as large as 24 inches x 36 inches. We buy card stock in that size and with 6 to 9 sheets can produce huge, life-like graphics. (The printer is constantly used by our teachers) However, the same results can be produced with normal 8 1/2 x 11 paper, though it will take many more sheets. Once the printing it done, putting the pieces of your graphic together is simply a matter of putting the puzzle together.
It does take a little time and some effort to produce these giant beauties, but the results are definitely worth it and you will be amazed at the affect it will have on your Bible class.
Dana Burk
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
What is Love One to Another?
Love is an attitude--
love is a prayer,
For a soul in sorrow,
a heart in despair.
Love is good wishes
for the gain of another.
Love suffers long with
the fault of a brother.
Love giveth water
to a cup that's run dry,
Love reaches low,
it also reaches high.
Seeks not her own
at the expense of another,
Love reaches God
when it reaches our brother.
(borrowed)
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Thanks, Ginger
Dana Burk
Conquering Our Goliaths
As children, we have our parents and other supportive adults to protect us from those Goliaths, but as an adult we often feel we must face them alone. Yet the classic Bible story of David and Goliath teaches even us adults that we can face any Goliath if God is on our side. David said to Goliath, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts..." (1 Sam. 17:45) Oh, if we just had the attitude of David, what could we accomplish?
Paul said in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." We all know this verse by heart and yet, do we believe it? Do we believe that our God is big enough to defeat Goliath? to defeat my illness or disability, to defeat financial problems, to defeat marital problems, to defeat my depression, etc? It only took one smooth stone, thrown in faith, to bring down David's giant--it only takes one small prayer, offered in faith, to bring down ours.
Dana Burk
Saturday, June 17, 2006
We Are Family
As I have pondered her situation over the last week or so, I have thought about how I never expect to be in her position. We were the only ones who showed up at the hospital for the life threatening surgery she had a few weeks ago--I always expect to have family present when I have surgery. Tol has taken care of her yard after it had gotten totally out of control--I expect to always have family around who can help me with mine. We are the only ones to have visited her in the nursing home since she went there--I hope I never have to go to one, but if I do, I know I will have family checking in on me. My neighbor has NO family--I have a very large family within the church and there will always be those in my spiritual family to care for me. How I thank God for this glorious family.
God has promised us an eternal reward if we are faithful to Him, but we also have many rich blessings here on this earth if we are faithful to Him and probably the greatest earthly blessing from being a Christian is our "church family".
Dana Burk
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Talking About Billions of Miles...
One thing I read said that the center of our galaxy was 26,000 light years away from where we are. One light year is 10 billion kilometers. That means in an airplane, it would take us billions of years to get to the center of our galaxy and if that is not enormous enough, scientist say they know that the universe contains about 200 billion (with a "b") other galaxies.
These numbers are mind boggling to me and there were even more. But what is most awesome about all of it, the universe, is that our God made it. Solomon said that heaven and the heaven of heavens could not contain our God--I would assume that is the universe. How GREAT He truly is. Yet in all His power and glory, He is mindful of me. Who am I that He would even know my name and yet He does. He loves me, He cares for me, He even died for me. What is it He could ever ask of me that would be too much. Rather, how priviledged I am to be called His child. That is how awesome He is.
Next time you come across a command in the Bible that you find difficult to obey, remember who it is you serve and what all He has done for you--it will make obedience a lot easier.
Dana Burk
Hey Kali!
Hope you are having a great time and learning lots. You are in my thoughts and prayers. See you in a few weeks. Love, Dana
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The Record Book
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Parent, What Effect Are You Having?
The kids met at an FC summer camp during Jr. High and kept in touch for a number of years but after graduation from High School they lost touch. Out of the clear blue the friend contacted my child by e-mail (you can find almost anyone through Google). So what's so sad about that? The friend's life has been one very sad mess after another, including homosexuality and total abandonment of the Church--and saddest of all is the total lack of contact with parents for a number of years. And this young person is only in their 20's. To add injury to insult, they now attend a denomination that condones and encourages "alternate" lifestyles--therefore no stigma attached to sin.
Supposedly the friend is "happier" than ever before and has "found themselves" and yet, through a follow-up letter you can feel the pain between the lines; the utter rejection and total disconnect from all that is precious to them. My heart aches for their loneliness.
I have thanked God a lot today for the relationship that I have with my adult children, for the relationship they all have with their God, but mostly for the relationship I have with my husband--we did not divorce during the most fragile years of our children's lives, destroying their stability and even their identity. I'm not boasting about how great "we" are, I'm stressing how parent's selfish behaviors can set their children up to utterly destroy themselves. Whenever a divorce comes about, it is the direct result of selfishness on the part of one or both involved and there is NEVER an excuse for this in a Christian home like this young person was raised in.
If you are a parent, think very seriously about what effect your actions are having and will have on your children; not only now, but in the future. The effects on this young person are still bearing their fruit. I understand that this young adult is now responsible for their own actions but their is plenty of blame to go around.
I would ask you to pray for this friend of my child. Pray that they will see their sin and error and that they will return to our Heavenly Father where there is real peace and may be able to renew the lost relationship with their parents and family. May God grant them time and mercy.
Dana Burk
Monday, June 12, 2006
Bulletin Board Borders
Sometime back I talked about making crowns for children out of scalloped bulletin board border. Our VBS theme for this year is King of Kings and so the teachers are looking for ways to decorate with a royal flare. Yesterday, I saw that one of the teachers had taken 3" gold foil crowns and used them as border on her bulletin board. The background was done in purple. It was darling.
Two or three of the other teachers saw it also and so today I have ordered about 12 dozen crowns so we can border our bulletin boards with them. It is amazing the versatile ways things can be used if we use our imaginations.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Authentic: DeVinci Code vs. Bible
The last tally I heard was that Dan Brown's book, The DeVinci Code, has now sold something like 10,000,000 copies and I see it is now available in paperback which will only encourage the numbers to skyrocket even further. How is it that a book, that the author himself describes as "fiction", can capture the minds of so many people and convince huge numbers of them that what they are reading is true with absolutely no proof and no evidence? Why are people so eager to believe a lie and so ready to reject truth and hard evidence? Let me suggest a possible reason for some of this phenomenon.
By accepting stories like The DeVinci Code, man brings Christ down to our level, stripping Him of His divinity and sacredness and it raises man to almost a "superhuman" level, giving him almost "Godlike" qualities. If Jesus did marry and have a child that had to be secretly hidden from the world to preserve their lives, then He wasn't much different from us and His human lineage is among us today--and who knows, you might even be part of that blood-line. Not only that, if mankind has been a part of some conspiracy and been able to conceal these truths through little known secret societies throughout the centuries, how "Godlike" they appear. This is really exciting and intriguing stuff and makes us feel really good about ourselves.
On the other hand, if Jesus is the Christ we read about in the Bible, if the Bible is literally the word of God and we are going to stand before our maker in judgment based on our obedience to that word, then that demands change in each of our lives. Change is not exciting or intriguing--it is hard and requires work and humility on my part--I must acknowledge how unlike God I really am. It would be a "lot more fun" to believe The DeVinci Code.
What this proves to me is that many people are not at all interested in "truth" but rather in what makes them feel good. The evidence proving the Bible can be piled in volumes sky high and will be ignored by the man who does not want to change.
Dana Burk
Saturday, June 10, 2006
One Mother
Friday, June 09, 2006
What One Visit Did
However, on Friday evening of that week, two members from the congregation visited in the home of this couple. These men had no idea of the good they were doing. The people were so grateful for the visit that they decided to return the following Sunday. They did, and kept coming. A short time later they were both baptized into Christ.
This man and woman are pillars in the Lord's church in a distant city. It would be impossible to calculate the tremendous good they have done during the years since.
Now why were they converted? Their salvation and all the good done since hinged on that one visit! Make an important call and visit this week! (borrowed)
Tol and I have always said you can never underestimate the power of a visit. This story illustrates that so clearly. We have similar experiences ourselves.
Visiting takes your personal time away from you and forces us to come out of our comfort zones but the results can be life changing--for you and the one you visit. Do you love other souls? Make the effort to visit others in their homes and show you care.
You and they will be glad you did.
Dana Burk
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
A Praise Team
The elders of the xxxxxx Church of Christ in xxxxx, WV recently issued the following note to their members. "Our use of a praise team in leading our worship has taken our practice of acappella music to a whole new level....We came to the conclusion that the Bible approves of instrumental music in youth worship....we have encouraged the use of instrumental music in youth worship..."
How disturbing! Where is scriptural authority for a "praise team" and how do you bring acappella music to a "new level"? Why is instrumental music okay for youth worship and yet we must have acappella in the regular worship? What is the difference? In this same article it talks about how congregations are having along with "praise teams", solos, duets and choirs. The only purpose of these types of singing arrangements is for the entertainment of the audience.
When we go to God's word, we never see ANYWHERE that we are to worship for OUR entertainment. Our worship is for teaching and admonishing one another and for the glory and adoration of our Great God--therefore, it will only be pleasing to Him if we do it His way. We are to sing together to one another, unaccompanied by any instrument other than our hearts. (Eph. 5:19, Col.3:16)
One of the great defenders of the faith early in the past century once said, "Brethren, it is later than we think." Those words are just as true today. Liberalism in the church today is in full bloom and it is probably later than many of us want to think. We must be watchful and on guard. We must be willing to STAND.
Dana Burk
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Using One's Talent
Monday, June 05, 2006
VBS Bags
I was reminded today that I need to put more tips for teaching on the blog, so, here goes one. In our congregation, we give our children folders, pouches or bags for them to transport their Bible class material to and from class each quarter and for VBS.
For the last few years we have been purchasing blank canvas bags from Oriental Trading (www.orientaltrading.com) and ironing computer generated iron-on transfers onto them. We use a graphics program like Print Shop or Print Master to design our graphic to fit the theme of our VBS (or theme of the Bible class quarter) and then print it onto iron-on, T-shirt transfers using an ink jet printer with its "normal" ink. The bags we purchase cost from $1.00 to $1.50 each and are very durable. We still have a number of them floating around from previous years. Our children love them (as do their parents) and look forward to their new bag each year. This year our theme is King of Kings and we are using canvas, back-pack bags. We have a picture of the five different kings we will be studying on the bag.
FYI--The T-shirt, iron-on transfers can be purchased at any office supply chain as well as Walmart. We buy ours from Sam's and save considerably with the cost. One word of caution: be sure and select the "print reverse for iron-on transfer" option from your print set-up screen just before you click "print" or else the names, words, and images will be backwards when ironed onto the bag.
Be creative and enjoy! Let me know how this works out for you.
Dana Burk
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Philippians 4:13
What a great saying and yet, so often it is not the things that God led me to that I struggle through, but rather the things I led myself into. The result is the same, however, because God will help us through all of our struggles. Paul says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
What comfort that can be when I see no way out to know that my God knows exactly how we're going to get through this and He will be with me every step of the way. Next time you find yourself in a situation that you just can't do anything about, give it to God (and don't go and take it back from Him) and let Him worry about it. You can trust Him to see you through and help you navigate through the rough waters of life.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Dana Burk
Friday, June 02, 2006
He Comes Home Tomorrow
Tol has been gone for 15 days now and I passed lonely days ago. It is so quiet and so serene in the house while he is gone--even the dogs are not as lively. I have been extremely busy trying to finish up the last chapter of a book I have been writing as well as preparing for VBS in two weeks and yet I have still found time to miss my sweetheart.
I thank God for the incredible man I have and I know I have been blest with the kind of marriage God intended each of us to have. I find, when he is gone, I reflect on the blessing he is to me in a way I rarely do when he is around. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.
In a way, I suppose I am fortunate that he travels frequently, because it causes me to miss him and appreciate him more. How sad, if we go through life, not realizing how important the most significant person is in our lives. I know how important mine is and he comes home tomorrow.
Dana Burk
I Want You There
I, as a father, will never forget his words explaining to me his desire for me to be in Heaven. I promised him I would. Can we as Christians actually say such a thing? YES!! Here are some thoughts I would like for you to consider:
1) Eternal life is not owed--Rom. 3:23; 6:23
2) The blood of Jesus forgives sins--Rom. 6:1-7
3) There is a place prepared for us--John 14:1-6
4) I can know I have eternal life--1 John 5:13
(borrowed)
I think the story above has some very sobering implications for each of us--especially parents. Will you be in Heaven with your children--will your children be in Heaven with you? We must be diligent to teach our little ones about God and the home He has prepared for each of us. Then we must be diligent to live the type of life that will be pleasing to my Father above so He will give me entrance into that eternal abode.
Dana Burk